


Softer & More Beautiful

by totally_loca



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Ensemble Cast, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 02:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8603416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totally_loca/pseuds/totally_loca
Summary: Snippets from each of Magnus Bane’s seven Christmases at Hogwarts and his first one after.Title is from the quote: “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> For [lesbianclaryfairchilds](http://lesbianclaryfairchilds.tumblr.com/) ([ohprongs](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ohprongs/works)):  
> Thank you for wanting a Hogwarts AU. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I had so much fun and now have a whole Shadowhunters Hogwarts universe stuck in my head, so if you ever want any more let me know :)

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/totally_loca/media/cover_graphic_for_lesbianclaryfairchilds_fic_by_shipnotised.jpg.html)

~~1~~

Magnus stood at the window and watched the thestral-drawn carriages disappear from view taking the majority of students home for the Christmas holidays. It had been easy to forget he had no home to go to in the excitement of starting a new school and learning real magic with people just like him, but now with only a few students remaining he felt the sting of loneliness, of being unwanted. He thought of Luke, the kind auror who’d rescued him and who’d had him to stay for the past two Christmases. Luke had offered again this year, but he’d just married Jocelyn and it was their first Christmas as a real family with Jocelyn’s daughter Clary. It had been easy to turn down the offer when the castle had been buzzing about Halloween, but now as he entered the all but empty Slytherin common room, passing a single sixth year buried in a book, he shivered regretfully. He curled up into the armchair closest to the fire, staring into it until the flames lulled him to sleep.

It was strange being in the Great Hall when there were so few people in it. The house tables had been cleared and instead a single table was set up near the professors. Magnus hesitated for a moment before taking a seat next to Catarina, a first year Hufflepuff he had astronomy and charms with, figuring her a better bet than the dour-faced Slytherin, the second year Ravenclaw who had his nose stuck in a book or the small cluster of fourth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs who were playing a half-hearted game of exploding snap over their plates. He smiled at Catarina as she looked up and she smiled shyly back. They sat in silence for a few moments before Magnus offered, “Have you done your charms homework yet?”  
Catarina shook her head, “I was going to go to the library after breakfast. Have you?”  
“No and I have no clue where to start. Could I come with you?”  
Catarina’s smile broadened, “Of course. It’s kind of lonely being the only first year in my common room.”  
“Same for me.”

They continued eating, with small fragments of conversation and were just discussing their favourite lessons when the second year Ravenclaw said, “I’d pick up your plates if I were you.” The pair looked across to find him holding his plate in one hand and his book in the other. They stared. “Or don’t,” he shrugged, looking supremely unconcerned when a loud shout came from the game-playing group. Magnus and Catarina hurriedly picked up their plates before the rapidly spreading lake of pumpkin juice could soil them. They looked back at the Ravenclaw, wide-eyed.  
“How did you know that was going to happen?” Magnus breathed, abstractedly noting the other Slytherin banishing the juice with a bored swish of a wand. The Ravenclaw shrugged and resumed his reading and breakfast. Magnus and Catarina exchanged a look and scrambled after him when he left moments later, all thoughts of charms homework forgotten.  
“But how did you know?” Magnus persisted.  
Catarina tried a different tack. “My name’s Catarina and this is Magnus. What’s your name?”  
The Ravenclaw stopped at the foot of the staircase, Catarina and Magnus tripping over each other to avoid bumping into him. He sighed and turned to face them, “You’re not going to give up are you?”  
The two grinned and shook their heads. He sighed again, “Anyone with a modicum of sense could see what was going to happen.” He started walking again, shaking his head resignedly when they still followed, “and my name’s Ragnor.”

~~2~~

Second year added another member to Magnus’s found family. Raphael was the perfect Slytherin; at 11 he was sly and snarky with a clever, sharp wit but a surprisingly soft core if you got on his good side. To Magnus’s complete bewilderment he clicked with their grumpy Ravenclaw. Catarina thought it was because they were both 50-year-old-men in children's bodies and eternally disapproving of Magnus’s antics. 

Sometime in the middle of November, Magnus wandered into the courtyard to find Raphael backed against a wall with a semi-circle of second year Gryffindors surrounding him. One of them was levitating Raphael’s gloves above their heads, another was holding his wand out of reach. Raphael was scrambling at the one holding his wand. Magnus was just about to step in when a tiny Ravenclaw stormed in. For all he was a tiny thing his voice was even as he asked what the Gryffindors were doing. When they sneered at him his voice got colder as he told them in no uncertain terms that picking on someone purely because they were in Slytherin was stupid. 

As they stood gaping at the glowering Ravenclaw Magnus took advantage of their distraction to retrieve Raphael’s gloves and wand. The Gryffindors scarpered when they noticed Magnus, who passed the items back to Raphael distractedly, watching the little Ravenclaw scowl after the bullies. The Ravenclaw turned back to check on Raphael, saw Magnus, nodded at them and wandered off as if nothing had happened. Magnus watched him go, ignoring Raphael’s muttering about not needing anyone’s help, and wondered who he was.

He got his answer a couple of days into the Christmas holidays. He’d been wandering the corridors in the hopes of finding something to do with Catarina, Ragnor and Raphael gone when stifled sobbing caught his attention. He rounded the corner and if the sound hadn’t alerted him to the fact someone was there he would have missed the small body curled into the alcove below the window. The sobbing stopped abruptly, the boy hoping not to be noticed, but Magnus stepped forward. “Are you ok?”  
The shaking shoulders froze for a long moment before he shook his head. Magnus squeezed into the alcove causing the boy to look up at him in surprise. “Wha-what are yo-you d-doing?”  
“Keeping you company.” Magnus settled in and regarded the Ravenclaw he now recognised. The boy watched him warily before looking back down at his knees.  
“What’s wrong?”  
There was no answer, just a sniffle.  
“What’s your name?”  
“A-Alec,” came the mumbled response.  
“I’m Magnus.” One eye peeked over at him. “I was sad last year too, but then I met Catarina and Ragnor over the holidays and now they’re my best friends. Do you know Ragnor? Ragnor Fell, he’s a third year in your house. He’s a grumpy old man in a 13-year-old’s body but he’s kind.”  
Alec hiccupped out a giggle and Magnus grinned, rambling on about Catarina, Ragnor and Raphael as Alec gradually uncurled. When he scrubbed his face with his sleeves Magnus stopped and repeated “what’s wrong?” gently.  
Alec sighed, slouching into Magnus’s side. “I miss my brother and sister.”  
With gentle prompting Magnus got him to talk about them, telling him stories of the misadventures they’d had. By lunchtime Alec had brightened, smiling shyly up at Magnus as the older boy tugged him along to the Great Hall.

~~3~~

“Magnus! Duck!”  
Magnus ducked, turning towards the voice as he did so, which meant he saw Alec get hit full in the face by the snowball meant for him. Standing he whirled around to face the culprit, finding Jace laughing hysterically at Alec clawing snow out of his eyes. Magnus took advantage of the first year Gryffindor’s distraction and started up a spell that pelted him with snowballs as fast as Magnus could pack them together.  
Jace’s laughter stopped abruptly with a yelp. “Hey! No fair! No magic!”  
“Says who?” Magnus called, ceasing his spell as he sauntered over to Alec who was grinning at the pair of them.  
“Everyone knows magic in a snowball fight is cheating!”  
“No one ever told me that,” Magnus retorted, winking at Alec.  
Alec laughed, “Jace is right. We have a rule at home that no magic is allowed. Mainly because Isabelle is so sneaky about it.” Alec smiled fondly at the thought of his younger sister.  
“She has enough control to pelt you with snowballs?” Magnus asked, surprised.  
“Isabelle knows more magic than me,” Jace grumbled, lobbing a snowball at them.  
Alec nodded, “usually they pelt you from the opposite side of the field from where she’s standing too.”  
Any reply Magnus would have made was cut short by a flurry of snowballs from Jace. Magnus and Alec shared a grin and then turned feral smiles on the younger boy.  
“Uh-oh.” Jace reached for another snowball, realised he’d used them all and stumbled backwards. His retreat was hampered by the laughter he was choking on and the barrage of snowballs from the older pair.

Jace’s rescue came from Lydia, a Ravenclaw year-mate of Alec’s. Catarina quickly joined in from where she’d been watching with Ragnor, who just sighed and went back to his reading. Taking advantage of Ragnor’s distraction, Magnus snuck across to throw a snowball at him, only to have it rebound back in his face off the shield charm Ragnor had put up. As Magnus ducked that snowball Raphael snuck up behind him and hit him in the back of the head and then again full in the face when Magnus whirled around. Magnus spluttered indignantly and Raphael smirked at him. Jace’s glee at having another ally quickly turned to betrayal when his laughter was once again cut short by a snowball to the face.

After that teams became a distant memory, with snowballs flying every which way. At some point every single one of them tried to get a missile through Ragnor’s shield, but all failed. It became too much of a challenge and the six of them lined up and aimed snowball after snowball at Ragnor’s head and book. With as many missiles as there were they failed to notice the rebounded ones they ducked were gathering above their heads until they were all suddenly buried in a snowdrift. They popped up again, all wearing identical expressions of surprise before bursting into laughter. Lydia and Jace scrambled over to Ragnor, hands held up in surrender and begging to know what spell he used, while Alec crawled over to Magnus and fell flat on his back. “That was fun.”  
Magnus smiled down at him. “Yeah it was.” He bit his lip before admitting, “I’m going to miss you over Christmas.”  
“Me too. But I’ll send you so many owls you’ll be begging me to stop.”  
“Oh yeah? Telling me all about Isabelle and baby Max?”  
Alec’s face lit up at the thought of his new brother. “I can’t believe I’ve never met my baby brother. I’ll tell you all about him. You’ll never hear about anything else.” He grinned.  
Magnus rolled his eyes and tossed a handful of snow in his face.

~~4~~

Isabelle’s first winter at Hogwarts was cold enough to freeze the Black Lake. By this point their group had grown to include not only Isabelle, but also Luke’s step-daughter Clary and her friend Simon, resulting in a mishmash of all four houses and a variety of years. The weekend before the Christmas holidays Isabelle and Clary joined forces and cajoled the rest of them into going out on the lake to ice-skate. Alec and Isabelle were sitting on a rock waiting for the others while watching Jace, Simon and Raphael chase each other around in what looked like snowball tag. It actually looked pretty fun, Alec mused, before a flash of red caught his attention and he groaned. “What is _she_ doing here?”  
Isabelle looked up and grinned mischievously. “Clary’s our friend.”  
“Not Clary. _Her_.” Alec spat, gesturing to the trio traipsing down the lawn towards them. Clary was accompanied by Magnus and Camille, the sixth year Slytherin Magnus had been mooning over all term.  
“I guess Magnus invited her.” Isabelle shrugged, waving at Clary. Alec huffed and turned his attention back to his boots. Isabelle knocked her shoulder into his. “Do we not like the Slytherin ice princess, hermano?” Alec didn't answer, stubbornly looking only at his boots. “Are you jealous of her? Do you _like_ Magnus?” Isabelle persisted, a teasing lilt in her voice. She’d been teasing him about liking the Slytherin boy since she watched Alec stumble over his words when greeting Magnus on the train. Before this year Alec would have insisted she was wrong but over the summer Magnus had discovered make-up, which only enhanced the older boy's already stunning features. Alec was studiously ignoring the fluttering this (and the other boy in general) caused in his stomach.  
“Not like that,” he insisted anyway, “I just don't like Camille.” He spat out her name like it was poison. Isabelle rolled her eyes at his denial but agreed with the sentiment, eyeing the older girl disdainfully. She was cold and stuck up and unfailingly cruel in a sickeningly sweet way to anyone she considered beneath her.

“Alexander!” Magnus greeted as he reached them, gleeful in his triumph of winning Camille’s attention. “Isabelle.”  
“Hey Magnus,” Alec said dully with a half-hearted smile and Magnus’s face dimmed.  
“I’ve never skated before,” Magnus tried, hoping for a more enthusiastic response.  
However when Alec opened his mouth Camille cut in. “I have. I’ll stop you from falling.” She giggled, running her hand down Magnus’s arm. Magnus looked delighted and Clary mimed retching behind Camille’s back, causing both Alec and Isabelle to look away to hide their laughter. Clary stopped as Camille turned her way and instead tried to call the three boys to heel, smiling at Catarina as she approached dragging a less than impressed Ragnor along with her. Ragnor reluctantly transfigured Isabelle, Clary and Jace's boots when they presented a collective puppy dog face, while Simon sidled up to Magnus with something a lot like hero-worship in his eyes. Magnus preened, winking at Alec as he addressed Simon, “Yes Sampson?”  
Simon pouted but gestured at his shoes with no further comment than a “please?” Magnus transfigured them with a careless wave of his wand and then looked expectantly over at Alec. Alec smiled, but his smile died as quick as it had appeared when Camille called Magnus’s attention to her and her own boots. She shot Alec a vindictive smirk over Magnus’s head as he turned immediately to her aid. Alec swallowed heavily and prodded at his boots, failing at a spell he could usually do quite easily. He startled at a gentle touch to his elbow and looked up into Catarina’s sympathetic face. “Want me to do yours?” She asked kindly, taking a seat next to him. Alec swallowed again and nodded jerkily. “Don’t worry. It won’t last.” She transfigured both their boots efficiently. Alec looked over at her quizzically. She inclined her head towards Magnus and Camille who were clinging to each other and giggling as they stepped onto the ice. “Don’t worry.” She repeated with a smile, standing and offering her hand. Alec sighed at the thought that he was so easy to read but took it, letting himself be pulled out into the chaos of their friends.

~~5~~

“Magnus!” Alec caught up with him as he entered the Great Hall.  
“Alexander.” Magnus greeted, nodding at Isabelle when she waved them over.  
“I, uh, I was wo-wondering if you were free for l-lunch tomorrow?” Alec stopped him from joining the others, although he avoided eye contact.  
Magnus raised an eyebrow: it was rare for Alec to stutter around him anymore. When he didn’t reply Alec looked up, blushing. Magnus smiled at him and answered, “I have no plans. What were you thinking?”  
At Magnus’s agreement Alec resumed walking over to the Ravenclaw table. “Meet me out by the lake at one?”  
“Of course. Why are we planning?”  
“Magnus!”  
Magnus froze in the middle of taking a seat. “Yes Camille?”  
“Why are you sitting with them? Never mind. Come sit with me.” The Slytherin girl whirled around and stalked off, not looking back but expecting Magnus to be following.  
“And that's why we're planning,” Alec muttered under his breath, glaring at his plate. Magnus squeezed his shoulder and sent him an apologetic smile when he looked up before scurrying after his girlfriend.  
“Ugh, I hate her! I don’t understand what he sees in her. She’s a leech.” Isabelle shifted along the bench to press into Alec’s side and rest her head on his shoulder. Alec just shrugged unhappily.

The next afternoon found Alec waiting nervously out by the lake. It was a cold but crisp afternoon and he smiled when he spotted Magnus ambling down the lawn, his make-up bright and glittery the way it rarely was when he was with Camille. Alec hated the way Magnus dimmed his make-up around her, he suited the fierce lethal look he wore now over the meek, vulnerable one she favoured. Magnus paused a few feet away from Alec and surveyed the scene critically. Alec drank him in, fidgeting with his fingers.  
“This looks like a date, Alexander.” There was a blanket, charmed warm, with a brazier of blue fire in the centre and a picnic basket just to the side.  
Alec spluttered, “wha-what, no.”  
Magnus laughed, flopping down onto the blanket and lifting up the basket lid. “Relax darling, I’m just teasing. Now, are you joining me?” He looked up from the selection of his favourite foods and grinned at Alec, who was blushing.  
Alec sat down and mumbled, “I just wanted something for us only before you went with Camille for the holidays.”  
Magnus’ smile softened and he shifted to sit next to Alec. “It’s lovely, Alexander, thank you.”  
Alec’s blush deepened and he set about laying out the food, clearing his throat.

~~6~~

“You’re staring again.”  
Magnus started at Raphael’s voice, his elbow knocking the jug of pumpkin juice, but didn’t look away from the Ravenclaw table and the Lightwood siblings.  
Raphael rolled his eyes. “Why are you not sitting with them like usual?”  
Magnus glanced at the other boy and smirked, “so I can inflict my presence on you.” He absently picked at his toast for a moment, his gaze straying back to Alec. “And so I can stare without him noticing.”  
“So not because he’s avoiding you because of the mistletoe?” Simon made Magnus jump again as he and Clary plopped down at the table, the pair of them and Raphael smirking at his offended face.  
Magnus couldn’t hold it long before he broke. “That could also be a factor,” he admitted with a grin. As he and Camille had imploded dramatically over the summer Magnus had decided charmed mistletoe was the perfect way to spend the Christmas season. Anyone within half a metre of him had to kiss him to be released. So far he’d caught all of the group except Alec, who turned and ran in the opposite direction whenever he saw Magnus. As such Alec had missed the longing looks Magnus sent after him.  
“But the staring thing is definitely true. Why don’t you just tell him, Magnus?” Clary said.  
Magnus suddenly became remarkably interested in his breakfast.

Magnus caught up with Alec as he was leaving the Great Hall. He huffed as Alec looked around warily for the charmed mistletoe. “Meet me by the lake for lunch?”  
Alec studied him for a long moment in which Magnus resisted the urge to stick his tongue out, before nodding. A grin lit up Magnus’s face and Alec couldn’t help but smile back, before Lydia was tugging him away for their first class. Magnus watched him go, smiling dopily, and started when Catarina appeared at his elbow. “Are you ever going to tell him?” She asked.  
“Maybe.” He smiled at her, linking their arms and ambling them off to lessons.

Magnus waved as Alec stopped on the far side of the picnic blanket, regarding him suspiciously.  
“The mistletoe is gone Alec, I promise.”  
Alec raised an eyebrow unimpressed.  
“I promise! It’s just us for lunch.”  
“Why?” Alec looked bewildered but came closer and dropped onto the blanket.  
Magnus waited until he was settled and then sat close enough to feel his body heat. Alec raised an eyebrow again but said nothing. If anything, he shifted closer.  
“Why? You’ve spent the last week running from me!”  
“Mistletoe,” Alec deadpanned, hiding a smirk when Magnus scoffed and busied himself with opening the picnic basket. Alec glanced around taking in the scene - identical to the picnic he’d set up for Magnus last year, except this time with his own favourite food.  
“Hey, Magnus?”  
Magnus looked up.  
“Is this a date?” Alec smirked, expecting a blasé answer. Instead, a hint of a blush dusted Magnus’s cheekbones and he averted his gaze back to the basket.  
“It… could be a date.” He mumbled almost inaudibly.  
Alec gawked at him until Magnus looked up again, laughing before stuffing a ham roll into his open mouth. Alec spluttered and by the time he’d swallowed Magnus was chattering about missing him over the Christmas holidays and how he was sad he hadn’t caught him with his mistletoe but “not to worry Alexander, I’ll let it go. For this year,” he added, ominously. Alec rolled his eyes and they moved on.

~~7~~

“Aaaaaaaaaalec.”  
Alec stopped so suddenly that Magnus bumped into him, trapping them in the charm Alec had been so adamant on avoiding last year. Alec spun around. “I don’t want to kiss you just because of some silly spell. I won’t.”  
“Finite incantatem.” Magnus vanished the mistletoe without hesitation. He was smiling coyly but Alec could see the nervousness behind it. “How about now?”  
Alec leaned down, a smile curving his lips. “Now is good.” He paused less than an inch from Magnus’s lips and Magnus let out a grumble, lifting up onto his tiptoes and pressing their lips together.

“Finally!” Isabelle’s enthusiastic voice broke through their kiss-induced haze moments later. Magnus and Alec pulled apart, both blushing, to find all their friends grinning at them in varying degrees of inanity.  
“Go away.” Magnus instructed, unsurprised when they all ignored him, even Raphael who was loitering at the back looking less than impressed. Magnus rolled his eyes and pulled Alec back to face him. Alec blushed, but let Magnus manhandle him. The older boy waved a hand and the babbling from their friends was suddenly silenced. Alec pulled back slightly and stared, “What did you do?”  
“Gave us a privacy bubble.” Magnus linked their fingers together, swinging them gently.  
“You know we could just go somewhere more private?” Alec leaned in closer even as he said the words.  
Magnus giggled, “What? And miss giving them the show they so obviously desire?”  
Alec kissed him again, slightly off centre because they were both grinning.  
“So now what?” Alec mumbled as they parted.  
“How about a date?” Magnus batted his eyelashes.  
“Ye-yeah, a date would be good.”  
Magnus kissed him short and sweet. “Tomorrow? Lunch out by the lake?”  
“Yeah,” Alec breathed out as he swayed back into Magnus. Magnus smiled into the next kiss, hands reaching up to tangle into Alec’s hair and tilt his head just so, Alec’s hands gripping his hips.

When they next parted for breath, Alec rested his forehead on Magnus’s. “We have to go to class.”  
“Boring,” Magnus scoffed, nudging his nose into Alec’s and revelling in the fact that he could. A movement out of the corner of his eye caught Alec's attention and he huffed out a small laugh. He pulled back, Magnus letting him go reluctantly, although he caught hold of Alec’s hand, linking their fingers once again. Alec smiled at him, “also I think our friends want attention.” He indicated to Jace and Simon pressed up against the transparent magical bubble making ridiculous kissing faces.  
Magnus laughed and waved his hand again, causing Jace and Simon to stumble forward.  
“So are you together now? Please say you're together.” Isabelle was vibrating on the balls of her feet. Alec and Magnus shared a look before Alec gave a small nod. The collective squeal Isabelle, Clary, Catarina and Simon let out was deafening, although neither Catarina nor Simon would admit to doing such a thing. Raphael just rolled his eyes and wandered off, muttering under his breath about idiots who took too long to see the obvious and how glad Ragnor must be to have escaped this foolishness.

“Hello Alexander.” Magnus smiled at the boy who had paused at the edge of the blanket, but hesitated just shy of touching him. Alec pulled him close, Magnus happily burying into the hug as Alec surveyed the set up. When Alec didn’t move after a minute or so Magnus tugged him gently down onto the blanket, babbling nervously about whatever came to mind. Alec answered him absently, his mind still mulling over the previous picnics. Alec cut over Magnus suddenly, “Was last year supposed to be a real date?”  
“Yes Alexander.” Magnus smiled at him patiently.  
“Oh.” Alec paused and then groaned, dropping his head on Magnus’ shoulder. “We could have been doing this for so much longer!”  
Magnus chuckled. “Don’t think about it,” he advised, kissing his cheek, “we’re here now.”  
“Yeah,” Alec smiled and snuggled happily back into Magnus’s embrace.

~~+1~~

Magnus waited on Platform 9¾, fidgeting nervously with his fingers, the glare Maryse Lightwood was sending his way not helping. Luke laughed at him from where he stood with Jocelyn waiting for Clary and Simon. “Stop worrying. From Clary’s letters he’s missed you just as much. And you saw him last Hogsmeade weekend.”  
Magnus hummed in response, his stomach fluttering as the Hogwarts Express chugged into the station and drew to a stop. The next minute was pandemonium as students exploded from the train.

“Magnus!” Magnus had a split second to brace himself before Alec barrelled into him, long limbs enveloping him completely. He laughed and hugged Alec back tightly, his nerves fizzing away.  
“I missed you.” Alec mumbled, pressing kisses all over his face.  
“I missed you too.” Magnus found Alec’s lips and pressed into him fiercely. Alec reciprocated, careless of the spectacle they were making, at least until Isabelle’s voice intruded: “Ugh, get a room you two!” She teased, winking at Magnus when Alec pulled away blushing.  
“Soon they’ll have a whole house to themselves,” Jace laughed, “also, Alec I am no longer your packhorse. Carry your own trunk. Or better yet, get your boyfriend to do it.” He dropped Alec’s trunk along with his own, Simon struggling to control a trolley loaded with his, Clary’s and Isabelle’s. Luke quickly took control, giving Simon a quick hug as Clary embraced her mother.

“Jace! Isabelle!” Maryse’s strident voice rang out across the platform. “Hurry up!” Both Isabelle and Jace rolled their eyes and took their time saying goodbye to their friends. Magnus swallowed as he realised the younger two Lightwood siblings had chosen to follow Alec and come to him before their own parents. He squeezed Isabelle tightly when she hugged him goodbye.  
“Look after him,” she whispered as she kissed his cheeks.  
“Always,” Magnus smiled down at her, the smile morphing into a grin as he watched her shove Jace out of the way to cling to Alec. The two siblings parted reluctantly, Alec searching blindly for Magnus’s hand as he watched his brother and sister join the parents who had told him he was no longer welcome in their home. Magnus pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his temple and Clary nudged under Alec’s arm to press against his side, Simon close to Magnus. Alec smiled sadly and gave them a brief squeeze. Magnus pressed another kiss to Alec’s temple. “Let’s go home.”

On Christmas morning Magnus blinked awake slowly and snuggled into Alec’s warmth, Alec’s arms surrounding him tightly. “Merry Christmas darling,” he whispered, placing a light kiss on Alec’s lips, fingers brushing the hair off his forehead. Alec smiled without opening his eyes and nuzzled into Magnus’s palm. He pushed into another chaste kiss, wide palms flat across Magnus’ back pressing him closer. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured as the kiss broke, his smile and gaze wide and awed. A corresponding smile broke out across Magnus’s face and he couldn’t help but kiss Alec again. They exchanged slow lazy kisses, both marvelling in the fact they got to have this - to wake up together.

Later that afternoon Alec stared out of the lounge window, hoping to see Church, his great grey owl. He’d sent a note to his siblings wishing them a Merry Christmas and hadn’t heard back. Magnus wandered into the room and came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his neck. Alec relaxed back into him but kept staring out of the window.  
“The hot chocolate’s nearly ready,” Magnus whispered, still kissing Alec’s neck.  
“Peppermint?” Alec asked, tilting his head to give Magnus better access.  
“Of course.”  
Alec pulled away, a noise of discontent slipping from Magnus before he could stop it. Alec chuckled as he turned, wrapping Magnus back in his arms and kissing him properly. The fireplace roared and shifted to green, startling them apart as Isabelle and Jace stumbled through, Max on Isabelle’s hip and Jace carrying Church. “Merry Christmas!” The three of them chorused. Alec and Magnus froze for a moment before Alec rushed forward, enveloping his siblings in a massive hug. Magnus rescued Church from Jace’s flailing before being pulled into the hug himself. He submitted, laughing, and met Alec’s eyes over the top of Isabelle’s head. They shared a smile and Alec reached for Magnus’ hand. Magnus squeezed back tightly, a flash of prophecy dawning; this was what years to come would be like, this feeling of family.


End file.
